STRUCTURE,

REPRODUCTION AND LIFE

CYCLE OF AMPHIROA
SYSTEMATIC POSITION

Division Rhodophyta
Class Rhodophyceae
Order Corallinales
Family Corallinaceae
Subfamily Lithophylloideae
Genus Amphiroa
 Habitat
• Marine, subtropical to tropical waters of
Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Common in
the Asia-Pacific countries.
• Growing on hard substrates in the middle
intertidal zone.
• Small thalli, attached with crust-like
holdfasts. Dichotomously branched mostly at
joints, in one plane, branches often recurved.
Segments near base more or less cylindrical.
• Branching commonly occur in the genicula,
rarely in the intergenicula. Genicula swollen and
prominent, formed at the forks.
• Thallus fragile, calcareous forming firm
• Flattened 'stems' that are branched along one
plane forming Y-shapes. The tips with tiny white
squarish 'caps'.
• The seaweed incorporates calcium carbonate
making the 'stems' hard and brittle. It tends to
grow flat against a hard surface, instead of
forming a spherical bushy shape that sticks out.
• In longitudinal section, medulla consists of 3–4
transverse tiers of long cells alternating with one
layer of short cells with secondary pit-connections
• Cortex consisting of several to many layers of
rounded cells. Joints flexible, uncalcified.
Conceptacles prominent, hemispherical with
central pore.
• Cortical cells ovate to hexagonal
 REPRODUCTION

 Sexual reproduction seen is Oogamous

type
It reproduces by Conceptacles

Conceptacles occur over the whole surface

of the fertile branch
The first stage is the development of male
and female conceptacles
 Female conceptacle
 The fertile threads are confined to the floor of the female

conceptacle. The floor of the conceptacle is called Disc.

 The cells of the disc divide and the upper half produces the

procarp initial leads to the formation of carpogonial initials

 A trichogyne is developed by the elongation of carpogonial

initial

 The cells of the carpogonial filaments increase in size

constitute the carposporangium

 Male conceptacle
 The fertile threads either occupy the floor only or onto
the side wall
 The part of the wall near the aperture is covered with
sterile paraphysis
 The development begins with the formation of basal cells

 Each basal cells form two spermatangial mother cells and

the spermatangia continously derive from the
spermatangial mother cells to form simple and
unbranched filaments
 Germination of Carpospores

 Spermatia, after liberation from spermatangia are

carried by water current to trichogyne.

 They stick to the trichogyne

 The male nucleus travel down and fuses with the

female nucleus produce carpospores accompanied
with meiotic division

 The carpospores of same species develop to form

carpophytes that bear tetrasporangia
• Meiosis takes place in tetrasporangia and
tetraspores are released into the sea.
• They germinate into haploid thalli that
produce oogonia or antheridia
 LIFE CYCLE
Haploid or alternating haploid and
diploid life cycle